The Wait Is Over For Yiwei At SEA Games

Malaysian divers Chew Yiwei (left) and Ooi Tze Liang after winning the 10m synchro platform event at the Singapore SEA Games on Saturday. - IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/ The STAR

SINGAPORE: That’s a weight off his shoulders.

Chew Yiwei’s finally got his hands on the SEA Games gold medal after winning the men's 10m platform synchro title with Ooi Tze Liang at the OCBC Aquatics Centre on Saturday.

And during the prize presentation, Yiwei kissed his gold medal immediately after it was placed on his neck.

Yiwei-Tze Liang finished the six-dive competition with 404.37 points to complete a double at the pool for Malaysia. Cheong Jun Hoong had successfully defended her women's 3m springboard individual title earlier.

Indonesia's Andriyan Andriyan-Putra Adiyto Restu took silver with 355.11 points as Thailand's Siriboon Theerapat-Juntaphadawon Yotsaw settled for the bronze with 316.77.

The 19-year-old Yiwei was delighted to stand on the top-step of the podium after taking bronze in his first SEA Games appearance in Myanmar two years ago.

“That bronze came from the 3m springboard individual .... my only event in Myanmar. I didn't train for the platform events then. It was worth the wait and I feel good now,” said the Klang-born Yiwei, who partnered Tze Liang to a bronze in 10m platform synchro at the Incheon Asian Games last September.

“I have to put my celebrations on hold for now ... I have the 10m platform competition coming up on Monday.

“We were not consistent today compared to our performance in the Asian Games but it's good enough for this level.”

Malaysia’s chase for diving gold continues on Sunday with Tze Liang and Mohd Syafiq Puteh competing in the men's 3m springboard individual and Leong Mun Yee-Traisy Vivien Tukiet taking part in the women's 10m platform synchro.

Three Cheers For Jun Hoong At SEA Games

National divers, Cheong Jun Hoong (right) and Wendy Ng with their gold and silver medal after completing the women's 3m springboard individual event at the Singapore SEA Games on Saturday. - BERNAMA

SINGAPORE: One was delighted. The other was frustrated.

That aptly describes the feelings of divers Cheong Jun Hoong and Wendy Ng Yan Yee.

Jun Hoong romped to a third successive SEA Games gold medal in the women’s 3m springboard individual at the OCBC Aquatics Centre on Saturday – at the expense of team-mate Wendy for the third consecutive Games.

Jun Hoong led from start to finish to secure the first diving gold for Malaysia. The 25-year-old had built up a 30-point lead heading into the last dive and she finished with a flourish to seal gold with 349.65 points.

Wendy has only herself to blame for not executing the second dive well. Her 309.20 total was only good for a silver.

Singapore’s Fong Kay Yian pipped Indonesia’s Eka Purnama Indah with her final dive to take bronze with 258.90 points.

Jun Hoong was relieved after succeeding in her bid to extend her winning streak in the 3m springboard individual.

She had finished ahead of Wendy in the same event at the last two SEA Games – in Palembang (2011) and Myanmar (2013).

“The coach was counting on us ... there was a bit of pressure. I had to execute every dive well. I knew Wendy would be my strongest rival but I wasn’t focusing on her. I was only thinking of my own dives,” said Perak-born Jun Hoong, a bronze medallist in the same event at the Incheon Asian Games last September.

Having won gold in the only event she’s competing in, Jun Hoong was quick to thank her coach Yang Zhuliang, her family and friends for their support.

“This gold medal would not have been possible without the help from the coaches,” she said.

Wendy tried to put on a brave face after claiming her third silver in as many Games.

“It’s another silver ...,” she lamented.

“I didn’t have a clean entry in the second dive ... I knew then that I had lost my chance. But it’s okay. I have to get over it and look to the 3m springboard synchro with Nur Dhabitah (Sabri) on Monday.”

Defending Champ Cai Lin Pulls Out Of 800m freestyle

BY LIM TEIK HUAT

Filepic of national swimmer Khoo Cai Lin.

SINGAPORE: Malaysia suffered a blow to their hopes of a gold medal start in swimming after Khoo Cai Lin pulled out from the women's 800m freestyle final scheduled for Saturday night. 

Cai Lin cited tonsillitis as the reason. She is the defending gold medallist in the event won in Myanmar two years ago. 

She swam the 400m individual medley in the morning but did not finish.  

"I have been having tonsillitis before arriving here and have not recovered yet. 

"I used the 400 individual medley as a test to see how I was feeling but I could not breathe half-way through my event. Too bad this happened now," said Cai Lin.

She is slated for another event - the 400m freestyle on Wednesday. 

SEA Games: Sorry Start For Malaysia In Swimming

Welson Sim of Malaysia (right) with the 200m freestyle bronze medal at the Singapore SEA Games on Saturday. Quah Zheng Wen of Singapore (left) won silver and Vietnam's Hoang Quy Phuoc, the gold. - BERNAMA

SINGAPORE: A bronze from youngster Welson Sim was all Malaysia could manage on the first day of the swimming competition at OCBC Aquatics Centre.

Khoo Cai Lin dealt an early blow to Malaysia’s hopes of a gold-medal start when she pulled out from the women's 800m freestyle final.

Cai Lin cited tonsillitis as the reason for not defending the 800m freestyle title she won in Myanmar two years ago.

She swam the 400m individual medley heat in the morning, but did not finish the race.

“I’ve been having tonsillitis even before arriving here and I’ve not recovered from it. I used the 400m individual medley as a test to see how I was feeling, but I could not breathe halfway through the race ... too bad this happened now," said Cai Lin, who is unable to take antibiotics as she has to race the 400m freestyle on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old Selangor swimmer, however, faces an uphill task of regaining the 400m gold medal she last won in Laos in 2009 as Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Anh Vien was in sublime form on Saturday.

The Vietnamese teenager splashed to two SEA Games records on her way to winning the 400m individual medley and 800m freestyle races.

But it was good to see Welson putting up a noteworthy performance in snatching bronze.

The 18-year-old from Sarawak clocked 1:50.73 in the men’s 200m freestyle to finish behind Singapore’s Quah Zheng Wen, who took silver in 1:49.17.

Vietnam’s Hoang Quy Phuoc smashed Malaysian Daniel Bego’s SEA Games record of 1:49.22, set in 2009, on his way to retaining the 200m freestyle gold in 1:48.96.

“I’m happy with my effort as this is my first time qualifying for the 200m freestyle final at the SEA Games,” said Welson, the MSSM Sportsboy for 2014.

“I’m also the youngest finalist tonight. I will not think too much about this as I have more events to come.”

SEA Games: Stage Is Set For Jinq En To Shine

Jinq En has a personal best of 1:10.75 in the 100m breaststroke.

SINGAPORE: Siow Yi Ting ruled the women’s breaststroke event over the last decade before Christina Loh took over the mantle from her in Myanmar two years ago.

When the swimming competition in the 28th edition of the SEA Games begin at the OCBC Aquatics Centre, it could be teenager Phee Jinq En’s turn to shine.

The 17-year-old, who only got into the national team last September, is capable of winning on her SEA Games debut if her latest times are any indication.

She will compete in the 50m and 100m breaststroke events, but it's in the shorter race that’ll be interesting for Malaysia.

Christina beat Yi Ting to the 50m breaststroke gold when it was last held in the SEA Games programme in Palembang in 2011, but the United States-based swimmer is not taking part in the event this time.

Jinq En and Sarawak-born Erika Kong are entered for the 50m breaststroke race this time while Christina focuses on defending the 100m and 200m breaststroke titles she won at the Myanmar Games two years ago.

“I have clocked good times in the 50m and 100m breaststrokes this year. I want to improve on my personal bests and get on the podium, but I don't want to put too much pressure on myself,” said Jinq En, who trained under former Olympian Marilyn Chua in Selangor before joining the Bukit Jalil programme under Australian Paul Birmingham Thomas.

Singapore's Roanne Ho and Thailand's Salubluek Chavunnoooch have the potential to deny Malaysia glory in the breaststroke races.

Jinq En is bound for the World Championships in Kazan, Russia, next month after clocking 1:10.75 – her personal best – in the 100m breaststroke at the Malaysian Open in Bukit Jalil in March. Her time is not far off Christina’s gold medal mark of 1:10.55 in the Myanmar Games.

Jinq En also posted a new meet record of 32.23 in 50m breaststroke at the National Age-Group Championships in Bukit Jalil in April. It was just 0.04 of a second off Christina's national mark set in 2012.

What makes her achievements all the more staggering is that she comes from a family of marathon runners!

"My family members are all active in marathons. But I’m not so good at running ... so, I gave swimming a shot when I was eight and I’ve love it since,” she said.

National Swimmers’ Training For SEA Games ‘Gone Viral’

The Malaysian silver medal-winning 4x200m freestyle relay team of (from left) Welson Sim, Daniel Bego, Kevin Yeap and Lim Ching Hwang at the Myanmar SEA Games in 2013. - Filepic

KUALA LUMPUR: The national swimming team were hit by a flu bug last week.

It disrupted their training programme, but coach Paul Birmingham is hoping that the worst is over as he continues to prepare the squad for the Singapore SEA Games.

Three male swimmers – Welson Sim, Daniel Bego and Shaun Yap – were down with influenza and had to skip training for a few days. 

They rejoined training on Wednesday and Birmingham is hoping there’d be no lingering effects as the team go into the final phase of preparation before leaving for the SEA Games competition, which will be held at the OCBC Aquatic Centre from June 6-11.  

“Daniel had to seek hospital treatment. It’s some kind of viral infection. These things tend to ‘come up’ when we prepare for major competitions. When you are training hard and the body is weak, you tend to ‘catch’ things easily, said Birmingham.

“I don’t know how badly they’re affected ... we’ll have to see over the next couple of days as today is just the first day they’re back and pushing hard.

“At least it happened now ... not later.”

Birmingham is hoping that Welson and Daniel will recover their full fitness by the time the team set foot in Singapore as they’re expected to play key roles in Malaysia’s bid for gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay event for the first time. 

Malaysia will be hoping to avenge their narrow loss to Singapore in the same event at the Myanmar SEA Games two years ago.

The quartet of Lim Ching Hwang, Kevin Yeap, Daniel and Welson clocked 7:27.32 to take silver behind Singapore, who posted 7:26.67.

Malaysia, though, finished ahead of their neighbours at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games last September despite missing the services of Daniel.

In Glasgow, the quartet of Kevin, Welson, Ching Hwang and Vernon Lee set a new national record of 7:26.74 in the 4x200m freestyle relay final. They finished seventh – just ahead of Singapore, who posted 7:28.01.

Welson is now the country’s fastest swimmer in 200m and 400m freestyle. The 18-year-old from Sarawak came agonisingly close to breaking Daniel’s national mark of 1:49.22 set in 2009 with a personal best of 1:49.67 in the men’s 200m freestyle at the Malaysian Open in March.

Welson, the MSSM Sportsboy for 2014, was in superb form in the 400m, clocking 3:53.93 to go within striking distance of Kevin’s national record of 3:53.26 set in 2013.

At the Myanmar Games, Christina won the 100m and 200m breaststroke golds. Daniel (400m freestyle) 

Malaysia Sending Smaller Swimming Squad To SEA Games

National swimmers Khoo Cai Lin (left) and Daniel Bego, winners at the 2013 Myanmar SEA Games, will compete at the Singapore Games in June. - Filepic

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will have a smaller group of swimmers compared to their main rivals at the Singapore SEA Games in June.

The Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) have named 17 participants – nine men and eight women – for the Games.

Multiple SEA Games gold medallist Daniel Bego will lead the men’s squad. The others are Welson Sim, Wong Fu Kang, Lim Ching Hwang, Kevin Yeap, Tern Jian Han, Shaun Yap, Vernon Lee and Alywn Tan.

Christina Loh, the United States-based breaststroke specialist, will head the women’s team. Khoo Cai Lin, Erika Kong, Yap Siew Hui, Chui Lai Kwan, Phee Jinq En, Angela Chieng and Carolyn Chan are the others selected.

Four swimmers – Alwyn, Angela, Carolyn and Jinq En – will be making their debuts.

Seasoned campaigners Yap See Tuan, Ian James Barr, Asmalia Filzati Redzuan and Nadia Adrianna Redza all failed to make the squad.

Asum acting secretary Mae Chen said they would be happy to maintain the four-gold haul from the 2013 Myanmar Games.

“All those going are capable of bringing home medals. I believe there could be some surprises as some of them did pretty fast times at the recent Malaysian Open.

“But we do not want to be over confident at this point as we don’t know how our rivals are doing,” said Mae.

At the Myanmar Games, Christina won the 100m and 200m breaststroke golds. Daniel (400m freestyle) and Cai Lin (800m freestyle) contributed one gold each.

Welson, Erika Qualify For World Swim Meet

Welson Sim competing in one of the events at the 58th Malaysian Open Swimming Championships in Kuala Lumpur.

Erika Kong celebrating her victory in the women’s 200m breaststroke.

KUCHING: Welson Sim Wee Seng and Erika Kong Chia Chia will represent Malaysia at the Fina World Championships in Kazan, Russia from July 24 to August 9.

The Bukit Jalil-based swimmers from Sarawak made the cut for the world meet when they beat the qualifying times at the 58th Malaysian Open Swimming Championships at the National Aquatic Centre in Kuala Lumpur last week.

Welson splashed to three gold medals in the national championships in the men’s 100m freestyle (51.73s), 400m freestyle (3:53.91s) and his most impressive achievement – the 200m freestyle – in which he clocked 1:49.67s, which was only 0.45s off the national record of 1:49.67s set by fellow Sarawakian Daniel Bego in 2009.

As for Erika, she won the women’s 200 individual medley (2:20.80s) and 200m breaststroke (2:36.21s).

She was also second in the 50m breaststroke (32.47s) and 100m (1:12.19s), clocking times better than her personal bests.

Apart from the five gold medals, the nine-member Sarawak team also captured four silver and five bronze medals.

Angela Chieng Chui Fei, who had just joined the national squad beginning of this year, bagged the silver in the women’s 800m freestyle (9:09.10s) and the bronze in the 400m freestyle.

Vernon Lee Jeau Zhi delivered a silver medal in the men’s 1,500m freestyle with a time of 16:05.31s.

He finished third in the men’s 200m freestyle (1:52.62s) and 400m freestyle (4:01.31s).

Sarawak’s other bronze medals were contributed by Daniel Bego in the men’s 100m freestyle (52.08s) and 100m butterfly (55.53s).

State head coach Hii Hieng Chiong was satisfied with the team’s performance, saying that Welson and Erika had done very well in the meet.

“They have not only helped Sarawak win five gold medals but also booked their tickets to the world championships in Russia,” he said.

While those in the national squad have won medals, Hii said the international competition had provided good exposure for state swimmers like Nee Gui Ping, Alex Tiong, Tan Tyng and Leong Wan Ying.

“The state swimmers have managed to improve their personal bests and the best thing for Sarawak is that all swimmers except for Daniel Bego who competed at the meet are eligible for Sukma 2016,” he added.

He said sending them to compete in the Malaysian Open was part of the state’s preparations for Sukma XIX in Sarawak next year.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/04/02/welson-erika-qualify-for-world-swim-meet/#ixzz3W7Db1Ct0

Globetrotting Dhabitah On A Mission

Dhabitah (left) will partner Wendy Ng (right) in the 3m springboard synchro at the Diving World Series meet.

PETALING JAYA: Diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri is certainly going places.

She is set to feature in the Diving World Series for the first time as the withdrawal of Australia’s Maddison Keeney-Annabelle Smith has paved the way for Malaysia to earn a slot in the women’s 3m springboard synchro in the two upcoming rounds in Kazan, Russia (April 24-26) and in London (May 1-3).

Keeney-Smith were the bronze medallist at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games last year.

The 15-year-old will partner Wendy Ng Yan Yee in their first participation in the series.

Coach Yang Zhuliang said the World Series will be a good platform for Dhabitah to stamp her mark as one of the country’s rising star in the sport.

“It is only for the top six pairs in the world. Dhabitah partnered Wendy to finish seventh in the World Cup in Shanghai last year and they were the first reserves for the World Series,” said Zhuliang.

“We will likely bank on Dhabitah and Wendy to defend our SEA Games gold medal for the 3m springboard in Singapore, so I hope they take the opportunity to polish up their routines.”

The timing of the World Series could not have been better for the pint-sized Dhabitah, who stands at 153cm, as Kazan will also host the World Championships in July.  

Besides Pandelela, Cheong Jun Hoong will dive in the 10m platform synchro with Leong Mun Yee and the 3m springboard individual while Pandelela will participate in the 10m platform individual.

Malaysia have two medals to show after the first two rounds in Beijing and Dubai. Jun Hoong-Mun Yee delivered silver in Beijing and bronze in Dubai last month.

Young Guns Ready To Make A Big Splash At Singapore SEA Games

Sixteen-year-old Wong Fu Kang looks good for gold in Singapore after a sterling performance at the Malaysian Open recently.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia can look forward to having a pool party at the Singapore SEA Games in June.

Youngsters like Wong Fu Kang, Alwyn Tan, Welson Sim and Phee Jinq En look more than capable of producing a splashing performance – having won their respective events in the recently-concluded Malaysian Open and qualify on merit for the SEA Games.

The four, who are among 16 swimmers who got the nod for the SEA Games, chalked up personal bests that are even better than the gold-medal timings from the last SEA Games in Myanmar two years ago.

National coach Paul Birmingham is delighted that Malaysia will have better quality swimmers for the Games this time.

“We only had four qualifiers for the last SEA Games. Now, we have about 10 swimmers who have qualified on merit for the SEA Games as well as the World Championships in Kazan, Russia, in June.

“We’ll be able to field a good team for the freestyle relays as well,” said Birmingham, who picked out Fu Kang, Alwyn, Welson and Jinq En as the outstanding performers.

The lanky Fu Kang, who is only 16, set the pool alight on the first day of the Malaysian Open by posting a breathtaking 1:02.56 in the men’s 100m breaststroke to shatter former Olympian and Asian champion Elvin Chia’s 15-year-old national mark of 1:02.59.

Fu Kang, who went on to win the 50m and 200m breaststrokes as well, looks good for gold in Singapore, considering his personal best is better than the Myanmar SEA Games winning time of 1:03.06 set by Radomyos Matjiur of Thailand.      

Welson came agonisingly close to breaking Daniel Bego’s national record of 1:49.22 set in 2009 with a personal best of 1:49.67 in the men’s 200m freestyle.

He was in superb form in the 400m distance, clocking 3:53.93 (Kevin Yeap holds the national record of 3:53.26 while the SEA Games winning time is 3:45.89).

“Fu Kang did great in 100m breaststroke while Welson put up a world-class performance for a kid his size. He has just turned 18 and his 200m freestyle time is just one and a half seconds outside the Olympic A time. If he keeps it up, Welson can qualify for the Rio Olympics next year,” said Birmingham, who also praised Alwyn and Jinq En.

“Alwyn has been knocking on Foo Jian Beng’s national mark of 23.42 in the 50m freestyle for some time and I’m happy he did it heading to the SEA Games.

“Jinq En also showed plenty of promise and we now have another good breaststroke swimmer alongside Christina Loh, who will be defending her 100m and 200m titles in the SEA Games.

“It’s not just the SEA Games but we have recently submitted a blueprint for the 2018 and 2023 Asian Games where we want to win medals. These youngsters are our hopes.”

Alwyn posted 23.17 in the 50m freestyle (the Myanmar Games winning time is 23.12) while Jinq En’s personal best of 1:10.75 is not far off Christina’s gold medal mark of 1:10.55.